ITV expects ad revenue to fall by up to 10% in Q4 2026, but remains positive as growth across digital offsets linear TV’s decline.
ITV shares fell as much as 6% today after the UK broadcaster warned that ad demand has weakened.
The warning comes after ad revenue for the company fell by 8% in Q3. ITV has projected ad revenue to see a 5-10% decline in Q4 2026.
Total revenue for the group (across media and entertainment as well as ITV Studios) fell by 1% year-on-year (YoY) to £2.76m in the first nine months of 2026. Ad revenue was also down 1% (YoY) to £1.23m in the first nine months to 30 September.
The fall in ad revenue is below previous projections, but does represent a better performance than competitors in the broadcasting industry, ITV said in a statement.
Across media and entertainment, total revenue declined by 1% to £1.43m. Digital revenue grew by 7%, which offset the decline in linear advertising.
Overall digital advertising revenue grew 6% driven primarily by ITVX, which delivered a record viewing during the period. This is driven by the World Cup final, alongside hit TV shows Trigger Point, Big Brother and Love Island.
According to the broadcaster, eight of the 10 most-watched series so far this year across commercial broadcasters and streaming services were on ITV.
Carolyn McCall, chief executive at ITV, confirmed “temporary” content cost cuts, although jobs are safe following the earnings update.
McCall said: “Despite a more challenging market, we remain on track to deliver good revenue growth in ITV Studios and continued profitable digital revenue growth in media and entertainment (M&E) over the full year.”
Demand for advertising has fallen in the second half of 2026, McCall added, primarily due to “continuing broader macroeconomic uncertainty, increased digital advertising on global streaming platforms” as well as the impact of increased restrictions in ad regulations.
She said: “We are taking decisive action, aligning our investment with advertiser demand to deliver additional temporary content and discretionary non-content cost savings in Q4.”
This includes aligning costs with advertiser demand and has identified £30m additional temporary savings in media and entertainment in Q4. This comprises of £25m of content savings and £5m of discretionary non-content savings.
McCall also referenced the sale of the media and entertainment deal to ComCast, Sky’s parent company, saying it is progressing as planned and hopes this will ” position ITV Studios as a highly attractive, pure play, global content business”.
“While the outlook for advertising remains muted, we are firmly focused on self-help and mitigating actions, while continuing to execute our strategic priorities to drive performance across both businesses,” she said.
McCall’s positivity mirror recent forecasts, which suggests the UK advertising industry is expected to reach £51.3bn in 2026, with addressable TV set to grow by 14%, according to the Advertising Association.
ITV Studios, which is set to become a standalone company after the close of the Comcast deal, recorded a revenue drop of 1% for the year-to-date.
